PSIII Reflection #1

Sept. 8/21

The biggest adjustment I have had to make to start the school year is consideration of legal
frameworks and school/division policies. In my planning I did not account for the time it has taken to get
students into the shop using the tools and materials. A safety contract was provided by my TM that all
students and parents/guardians must sign before they are allowed in the shop. Typically, the contract is
printed out for students to take home and bring back with the signatures on it. The school that I am at
has been undergoing construction and renovation all summer and the printers/copiers were unavailable
to use before school started. My TM and I worked to convert the safety contract to a digital copy that
could be uploaded to permission click for students and parents/guardians to sign. At the time this
seemed to be a better option than paper copies. However, it has led to many more problems with
students not being able to access their student email, not being able to log into their account, etc.
Something that seemed very simple when planning has ended up being a major time consumer trying to
get permission forms signed.

Another example is all students are required to complete a tool safety quiz before entering the
shop. There is a short PowerPoint that briefly explains each of the tools and students must get 80% on
the quiz. The quiz can be attempted as many times as needed for the student to get 80%. Again, this
seemed simple enough when planning before school started, but it has turned out to be more difficult
than anticipated. Many students have had issues with log in information, password resets, missing
information, new students to the school, etc. What seemed to be a one class assignment has turned out
to be multiple classes as we wait for admin to sort out student information. I have been able to come up
with alternative activities to do while we wait for students to be able to access the necessary material.

One other adjustment I have had to take into consideration is the amount of time I have to set
aside to complete my required legal certifications as the teacher. There are courses that all teachers
must complete through Public School Works that have taken time that I had planned to use in the shop
prepping material for classes.

The first two weeks have been slower than I would have liked because of the legal requirements
and trying to follow school policy. PSIII has provided a new teaching experience for me, which is starting
a school year. Other practicums start in the middle of the school year where policies, routines and
procedures were already established. I have learned in these first two weeks that establishing that order
(controlled chaos) can be time consuming.

One major advantage I have seen so far is that I teach two grade 9 classes, mon/wed and
tues/thur. I have been able to get immediate feedback from the first class to use and adjust for the next
class. This has helped me see areas that did not go as planned and adjust as needed or see areas that
have gone well and use that again the next class. I hope to continue to use the two grade 9 classes as a
benchmark for how well I am planning ahead and anticipating areas of concern within the class period.